DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids man has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Charlie D. Pitchford, age 34, was sentenced in the Southern District Court of Iowa on Wednesday. In 2012, Coralville police stopped a vehicle in which Pitchford was a passenger. Police found a loaded .45 caliber pistol and a plastic bag that contained 19 individually packaged bags of marijuana under his seat.
ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A new study from the US Department of Energy shows Iowa has tremendous potential for wind growth in the coming years. Iowa’s total power generation could rise to 40% by wind in just five years, up from 28% currently. DMACC President Rob Denson says the school is committed to training technicians needed for the wind industry.
QUAD CITIES, IA (IRN) – A Wisconsin woman planning to ride in her first RAGBRAI was killed while training. WHO-TV reports Donna David of Marshfield, Wisconsin was hit by a car and killed while on a training ride. She was a member of the Quad Cities Bicycle Club. Friends say David was looking forward to her first RAGBRAI and said it would be the highlight of her summer.
IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City has banned e-cigarettes in all areas where tobacco cigarettes are banned. KWWL-TV reports the Iowa City council vote was unanimous Wednesday night. The ban means e-cigarettes will not be allowed in offices, city buildings or parks. Due to the fact that e-cigarettes release a vapor and not smoke, they are not covered under Iowa’s Smoke-Free Air Act.
DES MOINES (IRN) – Charges have been filed in the shooting death of a Des Moines teen last month, according to KCCI-TV. Terry Harris, 16, was shot in the mouth and killed. Kenneth Raphael Moore, 17, of Des Moines, was charged with first-degree murder and robbery on Wednesday. The two were friends. Moore will be tried as an adult.
MUSCATINE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Four teenagers were injured when the car they were in rolled on Highway 61 in Muscatine County on Monday. WQAD-TV reports the accident happened when the driver looked up from texting, saw he had swerved, over-corrected, hit the median and rolled three times. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening.
DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A Quad Cities man was sentenced to five years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in the Southern District Federal Court of Iowa on Wednesday. In June of last year, Travis Diontrae Harris, 28, fired multiple shots from a .22 caliber handgun into the side of a residence in Rock Island, IL, and into a vehicle parked nearby. Multiple adults were in the residence at the time of the shooting.
JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Swisher woman was killed Wednesday after colliding with a semi parked along Interstate 380 in Johnson County. The Iowa State Patrol reports Keri Jo Goddard, 33, was traveling southbound in a 1998 Nissan Maxima when she left the road and hit the parked semi. A 15-year-old passenger was airlifted. The driver of the semi was not injured.